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Pitroda's WorldTel readies for the 'Bengal Internet'

WorldTel will sign a memorandum of understanding with the West Bengal government in February to launch its Internet project in the state.

T O D A Y

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WorldTel's Rs 3 billion venture will involve the setting up of about 500 Internet access points across West Bengal to usher in the much-fancied Internet boom in the region.

"WorldTel Chairman Sam Pitroda and his team will meet Chief Minister Jyoti Basu in Calcutta next month to formalise the project,'' top officials at WorldTel's London headquarters have been quoted as saying.

WorldTel will float an independent company and pick up a majority stake, to oversee the 'Bengal Internet' project.

"WorldTel will form a company in India with foreign and domestic equity holding as per Indian laws,'' company officials explained.

WorldTel was set up by Geneva-based International Telecom Union to structure and finance long-term telecom ventures in developing countries like India.

Its principal shareholders are GE Capital, the American Insurance Group and Natwest.

Besides the proposed Internet venture in West Bengal, WorldTel also intends to take substantial exposure in select mega telecom projects in India. "We are looking at basic telephone service opportunities... existing licences and emerging Internet opportunities, especially with the advent of private ISPs in India,'' sources said.

"WorldTel is keen to finance the highly capital-intensive Internet gateway infrastructure in India for ISPs,'' they added.

The new Internet policy allows private Internet service providers to establish their own gateways, bypassing the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited infrastructure.

At present, WorldTel is weighing the financial and technical implications of targeting mass Internet penetration across India using the cable TV route instead of the traditional PC mode, considering that national TV density today is about six times that of PCs.

"The current costs of cable modems are too high to support the high penetration levels. An alternate model along the lines of cable TV in terms of distributed investment has to considered, for an Internet access network,'' said a senior WorldTel official.

On WorldTel's Internet project in West Bengal, sources said "We intend to set up the hi-tech 'Internet community centres' in key business hubs across the state.'' For starters, each Net access point will be stocked with PCs, modems and fax machines.

- Compiled from the Indian media

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